Dog Bite. What would you do?

[SkynJay]

My 13yo dog bit my 3yo son Sunday night. My father in law was the only one with a clear view of the indecent and didn't even think she had bit, the kid basically crawled right into her while she was sleeping. Doesn't matter, a minor bite on the face is still a bite on the face. The kid was treated at the ER (holiday weekend, really the only choice) and is fine. No stitches and only some preventive antibiotics; because the dog is up to date on shots no further action was taken.

My wife wants the dog gone. Soma has gotten crankier in old age, no longer lets us brush her and has snarled at my wife. But my support group at home has offered another possibility; the dog may have arthritic pain or something of the like. Many vet sites say that dog bites do in fact often happen because a dog is in pain and many people see much improved personalities once that is treated. As such my wife is willing to give her one more chance. Not for the dog's sake, but for mine. I have a vet appointment set up for today and thought I was set.

But I can't stop overthinking this. Has anyone else dealt with something like this? Am I running on false hope here? Her choice is basically to show clear improvement or get the needle; I can't let her languish in a shelter to be passed up for younger dogs and I have no family with any desire to take such an old dog.

[Galactus]

Put it down. I love my dog(s) but once it seriously bites someone you can't really trust it anymore. (especially if it attacks children, since you can't really control kids OR dogs that effectiely)

And yes, it is often due to pain, or something else, but it's a matter of being able to trust your dog.

[Littlefingers In The Air]

Friend, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Be thankful that the wife is willing to allow for an alternative solution to putting Soma down. I say go forward with that but always be willing to do the best thing for the human family first.

[Galactus]

For the record, we have put down dogs for biting children. It's incredibly sad, but you can't really have a dog around that's aggressive against humans, and you don't want to foist it over on someone else either.

[Isis]

A colleague took her cat to the vet to get a chipped tooth seen to and they discovered and dealt with another (hitherto unknown) dental issue too. The vet said that my colleague's cat would likely be a lot happier and more sociable now because that newly discovered issue (can't recall precisely what it was now) would have left the animal in a lot of discomfort. So fingers crossed for you that you find a similar outcome with your dog. But, yeah, tough choices all round. :(

How is your son around the dog now? Is he scared of her?

[Whitestripe]

13 is pretty old for a dog, and she is probably in a lot of pain. Consult with vet, but the arthritis is not going to get better. Your beloved dog will just feel worse and worse. Putting her down my be kindness.

[IheartIheartTesla]

Separate the dog and child, get the dog treatment for arthritis (one of my rescues had hip dysplasia, she got shots + painkillers + supplements and it seems to be if not cured, at least managed) and monitor the situation closely for a few days/weeks.

My dog displayed the symptoms by basically whining every 15 mins. Boy that was an awful night to sleep through. I think usually there are other manifestations rather than biting/aggressive behavior that should also have come up, but what do I know?

[SkynJay]

How is your son around the dog now? Is he scared of her?

Not in the slightest. Wanted to give her a hug before bed last night so I held her face while he did. Have to force him to stay away from my room where we have the gate up to keep her separate.

[Theda Baratheon]

Get her the treatment but keep doing what you're doing and keeping a close eye on her and making sure her face doesn't get too close to your boy. Hope she gets better and I'm glad your child wasn't seriously hurt.

[Lord Flashheart]

What kind of dog is it?

[Arkhangel]

I think it would be extremely unfair to put the dog to sleep without exhausting every avenue to find another home for her. You say you don't have any family who could take her; are there any rescues in your area? Are there local message boards where you could ask around? Have you checked with all your friends and colleagues?

Bottom line, you knew that she was grumpy and possibly arthritic and you let a toddler crawl on top of her while she was sleeping. Any animal might lash out in that situation. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but you set her up for this. Obviously she can't stay with your family under the circumstances, but after all these years you at least owe it to her to try every possible avenue to find her another home.

[Lord Flashheart]

So killing the dog is better than finding it a new home? Or am I reading that wrong?

[Whitestripe]

Having recently put a very old dog down who had suffered arthritis for years, I have to say I wish I had done it sooner. My poor doggie was in pain, even with treatment, and I was keeping her around because I was too selfish to say good-bye. I could have spared her a lot of pain.

[Stannisaurus2]

I will have to unfortunately side with the people who say that the dog must be put down, as sad as that might be.

[Lord Flashheart]

No, you aren't reading that wrong, and it was stated by a respected veterinarian; on the other hand, after an unprovoked attack.

I can't copy and paste, for some reason. Just search "Seventh Pup" and you'll come up with the thread, on her dog, Bear.

My advise would probably be putting the dog down as well. I haven't searched out that thread yet, but I guess my issue is, was this vet saying re-homing is bad for older dogs or just bad in general?

If it's the former as I'm guessing it is I can see the argument for that.

However if it's the latter(and I doubt it is) that would mean all forms of rescue dogs and shelter adoptees would be better dead.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

Wehn I was a kid my family adopted an 11 year old dog who had issues with a small child. It doesn't hurt to try and find it a home before putting it to sleep.

[Dr. Pepper]

Depending on the type of dog, rehoming seems decidedly cruel. Except for a few specific breeds, most dogs this age would be at the very end of their lifespans. Not only would the dog be in pain but she would be forced to deal with the significant stress of being in a new environment with new owners. It seems like the stress of her pain is already pretty incredible considering she won't allow anyone to brush her, she's snarled at your wife and has now bitten your kid. The vet may be able to offer a solution to limit the pain, but I'd have serious questions for a vet that suggested rehoming a dog of this age with health problems so great that she's become dangerous. Putting the dog down seems like the least cruel thing to do. This is, of course, assuming your dog isn't one of the few breeds with a very long lifespan.

[Arkhangel]

For some reason, I can't quote...but, Arkhangel, re-homing is NOT the answer. It's unfair to the dog, and it's very unfair to a subsequent family.

I think that this may be difficult, but read the thread started by Seventh Pup a month or so ago *on this very topic*. Ixodes is a veterinarian, and recommended against re-homing, and also recommended putting the dog down, in that situation. See how similar the situations are, and judge for yourself.

Sadly, I would likely have to vote for putting the dog down. Very difficult decision, but it it's bitten a small human on the face once, the dog will likely do so again. I would not get another dog until the child is older and can be trusted with a dog.

The dog woke up with something crawling on her, which may or may not also have been actively causing her pain, and lashed out so mildly that the sole observer didn't actually think she'd bitten at all. I think it's unreasonable to paint it as a deliberate attack or a pattern of behaviour on the dog's part, and I think leaping to the conclusion that she's a danger to everyone around her is absurdly melodramatic and unfounded.

If she can't stay with the family, and I understand and agree that that is the case, I see no reason why she shouldn't be rehomed to a family without children, or even to a senior who wants a quiet dog to keep them company. I also think her possible pain issues should be investigated.

[Arkhangel]

My reading of his statement was that Ixodes was saying that re-homing was a bad idea when a dog had bitten a child. Regardless of the age of the dog.

I suppose unless one can be 100% sure that the dog would never again be around children, ever, it would be too much of a risk to the humans involved.

Even if the home did not have a child, what about a neighborhood? I don't have small kids, but imagine I took in a dog who had bitten a small kid in a previous home, then the dog went and bit a small kid while I was taking the dog for a walk...I'm sure the legal liability would be staggering.

And I would agree if there was any reason at all to think that this was a pattern of behaviour. There isn't. As far as we were told:

1) The dog has never bitten the child before

2) The child loves and trusts the dog, even after the incident

3) The dog was put in a situation in which almost any animal and many people would lash out on reflex - waking up with something crawling on her, possibly hurting her in the process.

As far as I can see from the information given, it was an unfortunate accident. Obviously the situation can't go on as it is, but the dog shouldn't have to die for it either.

[Dr. Pepper]

Er, except the OP clearly stated that this is a pattern of behavior. The dog is snarling at the wife and is not allowing anyone to come near enough to do simple things like brush it. It was't an isolated accidental incident.